Lee and Ed: Matchmakers Extraordinaires
by SmileySloth
Summary: Set in an alternative season 3 where Oswald didn't kill Isabella and Jim convinced everyone that Mario was infected before he had to shoot him. Ed and Lee become cautious friends despite Lee's reservations around the criminal. When Ed (who is still dating Isabella) realises he's in love with his best friend, he and Lee concoct a plan to get everyone their happy endings.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This fic is set in an alternative season 3 where Isabella and Mario don't die. At the start, Ed and Isabella are still dating and Lee is still engaged to Mario, but both Ed and Lee realise they are in love with other people. This gives them the (stupid) idea to set Isabella and Mario up with each other so they don't have to feel bad about dumping their significant others. Possibly, you could count this as crack because in the real world this would be a terrible idea that would just hurt everyone more, but this is fiction, so I get to pretend everything's fine! Basically, I felt bad for Isabella and Mario because they seemed to be characters introduced simply to derail relationships between main characters and I wanted them to be happy together. Playing fast and loose with the time line of the show a little bit - the Tetch virus still gets released but a cure is found during this chapter and the rest of the story focusses on relationship stuff and basically ignores everything else. Enjoy!

* * *

It starts because Mario's sick.

Everything has been a whirlwind around Lee since the wedding that never quite took place. She'd been so ready to get married and then there was Jim with proof that what he had been saying was true and Mario was infected with Alice Tetch's blood. After that it had been near constant hospital visits, Mario locked on the other side of bulletproof glass, Carmine Falcone bringing her coffee and berating the doctors when they had no good news. Of course, just when she's at her lowest it gets ten times worse because a bomb of the virus is set off in the middle of a crowded station and the hospital is suddenly overflowing with victims. The first week or so, when they're still unsure how many people have been infected, everything is chaos. As time goes on, things settle down a bit but the city is still fundamentally broken. They're quarantined from the rest of the world – left to die or get better all on their own. Lee's glad that no-one else she cares about has been infected, but it doesn't make this seemingly hopeless search for a cure any more bearable. It's been awful and Lee is exhausted. There's a theory that maybe Strange could provide a cure but nobody's seen him since the bomb at central station and Lee is rapidly losing hope that she'll ever be able to kiss her fiancé again.

And then, Edward Nygma provides their salvation.

She's been studiously ignoring the fact that he's out on the streets. After she slapped him in the GCPD, he's not tried to talk to her again and she prefers it that way because it hurts to talk to him. A large part of it is hate and disgust over what he did to Kristen, but there's also some part of her that thought of Nygma as a friend and his insanity is all the more painful for it. So, she hasn't really kept up with his comings and goings and is genuinely surprised when he swaggers into the Police Department, dragging Strange behind him and surrenders the man to the scientists working on a cure. Lee is there when he comes in, taking a rare break from playing the untimely widow to yell at Jim for not having tracked down Strange yet. The station is in shambles. Half the force were infected and a good number of the rest are injured or even dead. The police officers still able to serve are run ragged, the room is busy with the sound of bellowed orders and people rushing back and forth. Nygma strides through the calamity like he owns the place, people falling silent as they realise who he has with him. His eyes pass over Lee as he talks to Harvey and Jim.

"What, you're just handing him over? No demands?" Jim asks, trying for sarcasm, but only managing to sound tired. Strange has already been whisked away and all Lee feels is shock. Are they actually going to be able to finish this? There's a palatable feeling of relief in the air which is making her feel a little light-headed. Nygma shrugs in response to Jim's question.

"Oswald trusts that you'll remember this favour, somewhere down the line." Harvey growls and Jim fists a hand in Nygma's shirt angrily.

"I don't owe either of you just because you decided to act like human beings!"

"You _do_ owe Oswald," Nygma insists, not fazed by the obvious vitriol, "Although maybe not for this. You can't buy this kind of publicity, after all."

Jim releases the other man like he can't bear to touch him, a look of disgust on his face, and Harvey looks ready to punch his glasses off. Lee just rolls her eyes. The Mayor and his Chief of Staff might be some of the most notorious villains ever to grave Gotham's streets, and are decidedly despicable people, but they _are_ still the Mayor and Chief of Staff. Lee doesn't think Jim understands that they actually care about the city, in their own twisted way, and don't want to see it torn down by this virus. Also, she imagines it's a lot of work running things with something like this going on.

"I'm surprised you two haven't killed each other yet. Why don't _you_ do _us_ all a favour and get on that, huh, Ed?" Harvey says scornfully. Nygma fixes him with a look of disdain, but doesn't reply.

Later she heads to the labs to see how things are going with the cure. Strange is being uncooperative. It seems that he had created an antidote, but it had all been destroyed by the Court and he is reluctant to make more for risk of incurring their wrath. The police try to convince him to change his mind, mostly by threatening to punch him, but it's _Nygma_ that manages it. He'd stuck around, claiming that the Mayor wanted him there to ensure everything went smoothly and he deftly coerces Strange to make more antidote but appealing to the scientist's ego – doesn't he want to prove that he's the smartest man in the room? None of _them_ could manage to make the cure, Strange is the only one. It's such a petty argument, one that people have probably used on Nygma more than once. Lee can see it physically pains him to admit that Strange might be smarter than him. But it works, and then things run remarkably smoothly.

Getting the cure out is still a lot of work and Lee knows it will be a while before Gotham really recovers, but finally hugging Mario again, hearing him whisper in her ear, makes it all seem ok somehow. And as she stands there, she feels immensely grateful and realises that some of that gratitude is aimed toward Nygma. She tracks the man down to just outside the hospital where he's apparently waiting for a car to take him back to the Mayor's mansion. He seems a little nervous at her approach and Lee can't help but smirk a little at the implication.

"Dr Thompkins," he begins wearily, seemingly reluctant to say more. She nods her head at him.

"I wanted to thank you, for finding Strange. It doesn't make anything right, and I still think you deserve to be in jail, but Mario is himself again thanks to you, and that means something at least." She turns to walk away.

"Lee!" he calls after her. Lee pauses. "I didn't get a chance to say this last time but I truly regret what happened to Kristen. I never meant to hurt her." A boiling righteous rage washes over Lee at his words.

"I don't forgive you."

"I don't expect you to," he replies quietly. Lee grits her teeth, and walks away.


	2. Chapter 2

That's not the end of it. They seem to keep meeting in the most unlikely places. An evening out with Mario will happen to be at the same restaurant where Nygma is eating, or a party she is invited to will include the Mayor (and therefore his Chief of Staff) on the guest list. It seems that their social circles overlap more than Lee is entirely comfortable with. She returns to working at the GCPD and Nygma will also come down to the station fairly regularly on the Mayor's business. On those occasions, Lee forces herself to be civil. All in all, a few months later Lee realises that she's been seeing rather a lot of Nygma recently and they have become something approaching friends.

The thought makes her sick.

She thinks about Kristen, and Ed's other victims, she knows he doesn't deserve anything like forgiveness from her. She wants to hate him like she did before the virus. The problem is that Ed seems much calmer now, much more like the creepy-but-sweet guy she remembers and it's hard to reconcile what he's done with what he is. She tries to speak with Mario about it and her fiancé (they still haven't set a new date) looks uncomfortable at the conversation choice.

"Sometimes people do bad things, but that doesn't necessarily make them monsters," he says. Lee is a little confused.

"Murder, though. Killing someone who's innocent. I think we can all agree that's just plain evil." Mario shifts uncomfortably.

"Not everything is black and white, Lee."

"Some things are though! I'm pretty sure murder is one of those things." There's a pause where Mario won't look at her and then he sighs.

"Lee, if you have problems with my family, I'd rather you just say so," he tells her. Lee feels blindsided.

"What? No. I'm not talking about your family, I'm talking about _Edward Nygma_. What has your family got to do with anything."

"My father's killed people. Not all of them deserved it." Mario stares right at her. Lee has no idea what to say. Eventually she decides it's better to just drop the matter entirely.

She considers talking to Jim, but conversations with him have been awkward for a long time and she doesn't know how to fix that. He's been much better recently about not acting jealous around her, but she knows he still loves her and that makes it difficult. Harvey is much more vocal than Mario was when she asks him about it. He calls Ed a 'freak' and a psychopath and tells Lee she can't seriously be considering being friends with him. Lee doesn't necessarily disagree but the next time she sees Ed he tells her about a controversial new medical article he's been reading and they're having a debate about it before she knows what's happening. So yes, somewhere along the way they became friends.

The other thing that it takes her a while to come to terms with, is the arrival of Isabella into Ed's life. The first time Lee meets Isabella she's certain she's going mad, or that the ghost of her dead friend come back to haunt her as punishment for getting along with Ed. When she finds out the truth it's actually worse, because she might be starting to think of Ed as a friend again, but that doesn't mean she thinks he's stable enough not to hurt someone who looks so much like Kristen. She tries to warn Isabella off, but the woman assures Lee that she knows all about Kristen and even seems offended that she would suggest that Isabella was in danger just because of something that had happened in the past. In the end, there's not much she can do and… well, Ed seems careful with her as if he himself is afraid he might hurt her. Perhaps he really has changed.


	3. Chapter 3

Ed tells her, over cocktails, that he's worried about the Mayor.

"He's not planning anything illegal, is he Ed?" she asks, concerned. Ed shakes his head.

"Nothing like that. Well. Not anything more than usual. He's been acting… strange."

"In what way?"

"He's irritable, snapping at everyone. He even yelled at Olga the other day, and he never raises his voice to her. And he's getting even more paranoid, if that's even possible. He keeps demanding I go with him everywhere 'for protection', although I honestly don't think we're in any danger. Weirdly, no-one's trying to kill either of us at the moment."

"Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"I bought it up, but he said it was nothing and then immediately changed the subject." Lee frowns.

"I don't know, Ed. Perhaps his leg is bothering him?" she hazards. She honestly doesn't know that much about Oswald Cobblepot, although perhaps Jim would be able to provide some insight. Ed sighs and nods in agreement before returning to his drink.

About a week later she works out what is actually wrong with the Mayor and kicks herself for not realising sooner. It's her birthday and Mario takes her out to lunch. When she returns to work with her boyfriend on her arm she finds that Ed and Isabella also there, having stopped by to wish her a happy birthday. It's not terribly professional, but there's no real work to be done just now and she spends about an hour just chatting to her friends. Jim hovers around the edge, looking wistfully in her direction whenever her thinks she can't see and glaring daggers at Mario at equal measure. Isabella is telling them about this new musical she wants to go see that Ed clearly couldn't care less about, but that Mario seems interested in, when Oswald Cobblepot stumbles into the building.

"There you are, Ed!" he exclaims, limping over with two goons shadowing him silently, "You've been gone for so long, I was starting to get worried!" His tone sounds deliberately cheering, but it's obvious that he's not pleased. Pretty much all the surrounding police workers suddenly find something to keep them busy.

"I apologise, Oswald. I got distracted talking to Lee." Mayor Cobblepot widens his smile, teeth gritted.

"Yes. It's funny how often that seems to happen to you. Getting distracted talking to women, that is." Ed winces.

"You're right, I should be getting back to work." Ed turns to day goodbye to everyone and that's when Lee sees it. A look of devastated longing flashes over Cobblepot's face in Ed's direction. For a moment, it almost looks like he might cry. It's the exact expression Lee has seen on Jim's face aimed at her. And now, the ferocious glare in Isabella's direction. Lee looks, and yes, that is exactly what Jim looks like too. Cobblepot's _jealous_. That certainly explains some things.


	4. Chapter 4

For a long time she struggles with a way to tell Ed about her discovery. The poor dear probably deserves to know, but she just can't quite manage to get the words out. She tries a few weeks later over coffee just outside a crime scene. She'd been called in to give an onsite examination of a body and Ed had wandered on to the crime scene about halfway through her work, probably to pay one of the policemen to hide a piece of evidence. She tries not to think about it, and doesn't ask if she'd just been looking at his work. She hopes not. Ed doesn't seem to do those kind of crimes anymore, and if he did she doubts there would have been anything in need of covering up. Afterwards, he asks her to get coffee and opens the conversation by saying he needs to talk to her.

"I've realised something, and I'm not really sure what to do about it."

"Oh?"

"It caused the destruction of Troy, the worst of tragedies and numerous maladies, yet it is chased, desired and fought for. What is it?" Lee waits. Ed can never manage to leave a riddle unanswered for long. "Love. I think I'm in love." Lee smiles, although it's a little forced.

"With Isabella?" Ed buries his head in his hands.

"No," he wails, "That's the problem!"

"You think you're in love with someone else?" Lee asks, "Who?" Ed doesn't say anything for a moment, then he replies in a small voice that Lee has to strain to hear.

"Oswald." Lee blinks and then has to literally force herself not to laugh. After the silence has stretched too long, Ed looks up at her with irritation. "Did you hear what I said?" She nods, resisting a smirk, "Well, what do I do?!"

"Tell him how you feel? Break up with Isabella?" Ed blanches, a look of terror on his face.

"I couldn't do that!"

"Which part?" Lee asks, "If it's about the first one… well, I've been meaning to tell you. I'm pretty certain Oswald is in love with you too."

"Why would you say that?"

"The other day when he came to collect you from the station. He was _jealous,_ Ed. It was actually pretty obvious," she explains calmly. Ed opens his mouth to gape at her, clearly surprised. "So, you don't need to worry about telling him how you feel. He'll probably be delighted."

"You really think so?" Ed asks, voice filled with hope. She rolls her eyes internally.

" _Yes_ , Ed, I do." For a moment he looks nothing but happy, but then something seems to occur to him and he sends Lee a look of panic.

"But… what about Isabella?"

"It's probably best if you break up with her, fairer on everyone that way. Unless…" she hesitates, "Are you in love with her too?" There's a pause while Ed thinks about this and then he slowly shakes his head, looking a bit guilty.

"No, I don't think I am. Or at least, I think I love Oswald _more_. I care about Isabella, but maybe it's more of a friendship thing? I don't really have friends, so I don't know what it feels like." That, Lee can definitely believe. "Even so, I don't feel right just breaking up with her. She really hasn't had the best luck with relationships and she's told me that she'd pretty much given up on finding anyone. And I don't want to hurt her!"

"Isabella has more in her life than just you, I'm sure she'll survive breaking up with you just fine. And besides, it's hardly fair on her to stay in a relationship if you don't love her," she reasons. Ed stares at her with confusion.

"Then why are you still with Mario?" he asks. Lee is taken aback.

"What are you talking about?" she almost growls, feeling uncommonly angry, "I _do_ love Mario. We're engaged!" Ed doesn't seem phased by her display of anger.

"I know, but it's also been months since Mario got cured and there's been no set date for the wedding, even though the two of you were practically down the aisle before he got infected," he points out matter-of-fact, "It just doesn't seem like you really want to get married, Lee. You even bought that new apartment to be closer to work, but that just seems like an excuse to spend less time with Mario. And I figured that was because you were still in love with Jim. That's why I came to you with this in the first place, because I thought you'd understand."

"I'm not still in love with Jim!" Lee exclaims, shocked that he'd somehow read the situation so wrong, " _Jim's_ still in love with _me._ "

"I know. But you clearly still love him too. You have to know, if even I've noticed it."

"Ok, _why_ do you think I'm in love with Jim?" Time to sort this out once and or all. Lee's never heard anything so ridiculous in her life. Ed rolls his eyes and then begins listing off times when Lee had stood Mario up in order to spend time with Jim (for work, of course), or times when she would spend an entire conversation talking about Jim without mentioning Mario once (she was ranting! Jim can be aggravating on his best days), or times when Ed's found Lee and Jim having meaningful conversations whilst staring longingly into each other's eyes (he's imagining that, clearly), or that time when she had a really bad day and instead of going home to her fiancé, she sort out Jim and cried while he comforted her (that… is harder to explain). As the list goes on, Lee's indignation breaks and a dawning sense of realisation comes over her.

"Damn. I _am_ still in love with Jim."

"That's what I've been saying for the last half an hour," Ed grumbles petulantly. Lee ignores him, too caught up in the revelation that she's been blind to her own feelings for months.

"God, do you think Mario knows?" She hadn't noticed him acting any differently, but maybe she's been blind to that too. Ed shrugs.

"He might do. He has to know _somethings_ up, because the fact that you haven't had any interest in getting married is frankly quite telling." Lee blushes red. God, and she thought _Ed_ was oblivious, turns out she's on a whole other level! After all, Ed figured out he was in love with Oswald without any prompting from anyone.

"What am I going to do?"

"Follow your own advice?"

"No, scrap that, it was terrible advice! I can't just break up with Mario! He'll feel like I led him on, wasted months of his life! And after everything he went through with the Tetch virus! I can't do that to him!"

"So, what? We just keep in our respective relationships and hope our feelings change?" Ed suggests but Lee shakes her head vehemently.

"That's an awful thing to do, it's bad for everyone." She sighs. "It's such a shame we can't just set them up with each other – they really do get on so well. They both love reading and musicals, they're both kind thoughtful people. They're perfect for each other, really." Ed has a face as if he's had an epiphany, and Lee is frankly a little unnerved by it, worried about what his idea might be.

"Why _can't_ we set them up with each other?" Huh. That actually might work.


	5. Chapter 5

It's madness, of course. Probably a monumentally bad idea as well, definitely manipulative and possibly even a little cruel. But Ed's not really known for his sanity and the fact is, Lee genuinely believes that Mario and Isabella would be a great couple. She knows they get on well because she's seen them interact with each other as friends. They have similar interests and compatible personalities and when she finds it really easy to picture them together. Both of them live in Gotham but want normal lives, and it's apparent that her and Ed can't give them that so maybe they could find it together. There are other points to consider as well. Oswald, she imagines, is probably quite possessive and she wouldn't put it past the crime lord to have Isabella killed if he thinks she might steal Ed away from him again. Having her happy with another man should soften that impulse. And for her side of things, Mario's family are known violent criminals and she really doesn't want to see what they'd do to her if she broke Mario's heart. Probably nothing. Let's just say she has no desire to find out.

Once the idea has occurred to them it's hard to talk themselves out of it, so Lee resigns herself to playing matchmaker. Ed leaves the coffee shop with a slightly manic smile on his face and a promise to come round Lee's later 'to plan'. He shows up some time after dinner, normally immaculate hair a mess on his head and shoves a bright green folder into her hands.

"I had some ideas," he announces. She glances at the content of the folder. It's got to be 50 pages, all colour coded.

"How long did you spend on this?" she asks in alarm. Ed shrugs.

"A couple of hours. It was no big deal."

"Didn't you have any work to do today?"

"It was a pretty slow day at the office actually. Plus, I skipped lunch. It was no problem! I had to practically sneak out of the mansion though. I didn't want to tell Oswald where I was going." Lee raises an eyebrow.

"You could have told him you were spending time with me. We're friends – it's not that suspicious." Ed shuffles uncomfortably.

"Oswald… likes to know what I'm doing. He would have asked what our plans were, and I don't want to lie to him." Lee isn't entirely sure that that sounds healthy.

"What do you mean he likes to know what you're doing? All the time? That sounds a little worrying if I'm being honest." His eyes flash with anger for a moment before he deliberately stamps it down and sighs.

"It's not like that really. He's been getting worse since I started seeing Isabella, and honestly it has gotten a little suffocating, but I you're right it's probably just because he's jealous."

"That doesn't make it ok," Lee says with a frown, "You're your own person. You don't have to tell him where you are every second of every day and he shouldn't expect it." Ed looks a little like a deer in headlights but then he nods thoughtfully.

"I'll talk to him about it." At Lee's look, he elaborates. "Oswald hasn't had many friends before, and I don't think he's ever been in a proper relationship. It's understandable that he might take some time to adjust, but I'm sure he wouldn't do anything that he thought made me uncomfortable."

"Alright, I'll trust you, you know him best. But if it gets any worse, promise you'll tell me?" Ed nods. "This does bring up a potential flaw with our plan – Oswald and Jim. You literally started this by announcing you love Oswald and I'm fairly certain I still have feelings for Jim - shouldn't we tell them now? It's unfair to expect them to wait, and what if they find someone else."

"I'm confident in my ability to win Oswald back in that case," Ed says dismissively.

"Really? You didn't even want to tell him you loved him this morning."

"Well, I've had long to think about it. I don't think it's very likely though, it's been months and neither of them have gone on so much as a date, we can afford to leave it a few more weeks."

"But isn't that a little… cruel?"

"The ends justify the means, Dr Thompkins. If this works out, then everybody goes away happy."

"I guess so…" Lee's not completely convinced, but she's actually getting a little excited about the plan now so she stamps down her doubts once and for all. They'll just have to set some boundaries to make sure things don't get out of hand. "But I really think we should set a time frame. I don't want to drag this out for very long, for all our sakes." Ed nods slowly.

"That seems reasonable. Shall we say two weeks?"

"You think we'll be able to get them together in two weeks?"

"Oh, I'm certain of it."


	6. Chapter 6

Day one:

Ed's plan had been complicated and meticulous which both impressed and disturbed Lee. She had had to talk him out of the more… elaborate (and in some cases, illegal) elements. She's not even sure what the giant birdcages would have achieved, let alone where they could have found some on short notice. Although, Ed had seemed pretty confident that it wouldn't be an issue – Lee chose not to think about that too much. They put their plan into action the following Monday.

Mario and Lee had a habit of trying to eat lunch together a couple of times a week. Their schedules were hectic and now that Lee was living in her own apartment (alright, Ed, so that really should have been a red flag) they didn't get to see as much of each other as they would have liked. Hence: lunch. On this particular day, the weather was very much on their side with bright sunshine and not a hint of rain, so Lee could quite easily suggest they have a picnic in a local park. A local park that just happened to be right by the library where Isabella worked, and just happened to be where Ed and Isabella were having their own impromptu picnic.

"Mario! Lee!" Isabella called out, waving them over. Her and Ed were leaning against a fountain, a wicker hamper open on the ground between them. Ed looked slightly uncomfortable with eating on the ground, but he'd told Lee he was willing to do anything to get this to work.

"Fancy seeing you here." Lee almost facepalmed and Ed's impressive lack of subtly.

"We thought we'd enjoy the lovely weather for once," she explained. Ed smirked at her.

"Well, please, join us!" Isabella offered, before glancing at Ed, "I mean, if that's ok with you, Edward."

"Of course. Please, sit down." Mario was lowering himself to the floor even as Ed finished speaking and Lee was quick to join him.

"So, how are things at the library, Isabella?" Lee asks as soon as everyone is comfortable. Isabella beams.

"Oh, simply wonderful. We normally get a lot of children in over the summer, what with the school holidays and all, and they really brighten up the place."

"You like children?"

"Well, yes, I suppose. I was definitely planning on having some of my own someday." Isabella sneaks a look at Ed who's expression of shell-shocked horror is almost certainly not an act. "What about you?"

It's like a kick in the guts. Lee hadn't been thinking clearly, hadn't realised how much that question would hurt. She remembers thinking she was going to be a mom. The fear and uncertainty mixed up with a love so fierce that everything else seemed shallow in comparison. She remembers planning a future with Jim and their children, seeing that future in her mind's eye, knowing what she wanted. And then… it was gone. She'd been numb for a long time after that, grieving for a future no longer possible. Some of the blame for what had happened landed on Ed, she remembered. It had been his crimes that had sent Jim to prison and caused her the stress that eventually led to her losing her child... She had moved past it, as far as she thought she ever would, but the pain would always be just below the surface, ready to bubble up at a single well-meant question.

She's brought out of her thoughts by the feel of someone squeezing her hand. She meets Mario's eyes and he gives her a sad smile.

"Do you need some time?" he asks softly. She shakes her head, partly in reply and partly to clear her head.

"Did I say something wrong?" Isabella asks in confusion. Ed leans over to whisper an explanation in her ear and she widens her eyes in shocked guilt. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I had no idea."

"It's fine," Lee assures. Her hands shake in her lap. "You weren't to know, and I was the one who started the conversation anyway. How about we talk about something else?"

"Right, of course, if that's what you want. Um, is anyone reading any good books at the moment?"

"I don't really have time to read," Ed replies. He's shooting Lee concerned glances but she doesn't have the heart to do more than avoid his gaze. "My duties as chief of staff take up a lot of my time."

"I've started reading before bed recently," Mario confides, "I find it relaxing. My sleep schedule is a little irregular because of the times I've had to take the night shift and I have a hard time getting to sleep, so I find it really helps."

"What are you reading at the moment?"

"Ah, well I thought I'd try some of the classics. I'm on Dracula at the moment." Isabella looks suddenly nervous.

"I, uh, well, it's certainly a classic," she mumbles, not meeting anyone's eyes. Mario laughs.

"I'm not really getting into it. Nothing's really happened! There are vampires in it right? Did I sleep through those parts?"

"Oh! Yes, I agree. Not that it's terrible or anything, but it does seem a little dull by modern standards. I admire it from an intellectual point of view. I mean, it's a key text in the horror genre and has had a massive impact on literature over the years. And it does a lot of interesting things, it's really a fascinating study. But as a book for entertainment… let's just say I can see why it would help you sleep." Isabella seems surprised at her own daring. Ed and Lee exchange meaningful glances. They are _perfect_ for each other.

The rest of the lunch goes very well. Mario and Isabella spend a long time talking about different books and what makes something a classic and Ed and Lee mostly leave them to it, interjecting every now and then. After 20 minutes or so, Lee realises she needs to head back.

"I was thinking," Ed begins as she stands up, "How would you guys feel about a double date?"

"Another one?" Mario replies, indicating the picnic strewn before them. Ed nods. "Well, sure. What do you think, Lee?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Tomorrow night, for dinner?" They hash out the details (which Lee and Ed have pre-agreed upon) and then part amicably. By the time she gets back to work, Lee has almost forgotten about Isabella's question and the emotions it had stirred up. Almost.

Ed rings her that night.

"I think it went well."

"Yeah. Everything really for dinner tomorrow?"

"Everything's A-OK… Lee? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Really. Maybe a little shaken up, but they're nothing you can do to help that." _And I wouldn't want your help with this particular thing anyway._

"Of course. Still on board for Operation: Maribella?"

"We're not calling it that."

"…whatever you say."


	7. Chapter 7

"Did you really not realise Oswald was trying to date you?" Lee asks, incredulous. Her and Ed are seated in a French restaurant, waiting for their respective dates to arrive. It's the first time Lee's been able to sit down all day and she's almost falling asleep in her chair. She has been keeping herself awake by teasing Ed about his choice of restaurant. When he had suggested the place he'd told her that Oswald had taken him here to celebrate winning the election and he'd thought it might be suitable. It's got beautiful décor, low lighting and candles on every table. It's intimate, romantic. And the _Mayor_ had bought his _Chief of Staff_ here. "I'm actually worried that Isabella will figure out what's going on when she gets here. And then the whole plan will be up in smoke." Ed glares at her.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Sure. Whatever." She rolls her eyes. Ed hardens his glare for a moment before looking away, taking a sip of his wine to cover the movement. A moment later, Lee see a flash of blue in the corner of her vision and Isabella appears quietly at their table, smiling serenely. Ed rises to greet her and they share a chaste kiss.

"Hello, Lee! I hope I'm not late…"

"Not at all!" Lee assures the other woman. "Mario's not even here yet. Sit down, we ordered wine."

"Oh! How thoughtful."

They settle themselves down again and exchange general pleasantries. After a minute or so there's a gap in the conversation that stretches to uncomfortable as nobody can think of anything to say. Ed fidgets, looking unsure, before picking up a napkin and starting to fold it absentmindedly. Isabella frowns slightly at the action but says nothing. Lee is starting to get annoyed that Mario isn't here yet. They'd said they would meet at half past 7 and it is already quarter past 8. She knows he can get held up at work and considering what he does that's completely understandable, but they'd agreed on a time and maybe if he could just let her know… She doesn't like that she' become the kind of person who is apparently annoyed that her boyfriend has a job that he cares about. The number of times that she's put her work before her relationship, and she can't allow Mario to do the same now and then?

"Maybe we should just order," she grumbles into the silence. Before either of her companions can reply, however, Mario arrives. He hastily apologises to everyone, kissing Lee on the cheek as he takes his seat. His lips are chapped from the cold.

"There's no need to apologise," Isabella tells him, "I'm sure it couldn't be helped."

"No. We were swamped at the hospital. But then this is Gotham, so just an ordinary Tuesday I suppose." He gives a strained chuckle and the rest of them oblige him with a few weak laughs. "I'll tell you about it in a moment. Should we order some food first? I'm starved!" He rubs his hands together as if to warm them.

The conversation flows much more freely now that Mario is here, and Lee actually starts to have a good time. It doesn't hurt that the food is delicious. About halfway through the main course her phone rings. At the same time, across the table, Ed's starts to buzz. She shoots him a quizzical look. They'd agreed to bow out some time before the end of the meal to give Isabella and Mario some time alone, but she hadn't realised that involved having someone ring them. Who else had Ed gotten involved with this? He smirks at her slightly and indicates that she should just pick up.

"Lee?" It was Harvey. "We really need you down at the station."

"What, now?"

"There's a dead body. We need someone to look at it." Lee looks at Ed. He's turned away from her, talking too quietly for her to hear. No help there, then. A quick glance at their companions tells her that Mario is not happy with her talking the call at the table. She mouths sorry at him and decides to wrap things up as quickly as possible.

"Why can't this wait till morning?" A pregnant pause.

"The way he died… the guy who called it in thought it might be the Tetch virus again. Or some kind of mutated version of it? We need to know what we're dealing with, in case we have an outbreak on our hands." Her breath catches in her throat. She reaches out to squeeze Mario's hand, reassuring herself that he's still there.

"I'll be right there," she tells Harvey, and then hangs up. Mario is looking at her with concern and she struggles to meet his gaze.

"Lee?" She takes a deep breath, composing herself, before she tries to speak.

"I've got to go. Something's come up at work. I'm really sorry."

"What's happened? You seem upset." Lee shakes her head.

"I can't really talk about it right now. It might be nothing, and I don't want to upset you." Mario looks unconvinced and a little disappointed, but he doesn't push it. Instead he sighs.

"Ok, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Absolutely," she replies. She stands, and starts to get her stuff together.

"Unfortunately, I've also got to go. Duty calls." Ed rises from his seat and straightens his tie. Isabella looks between the two on them with a small frown.

"You've both been called into work right now?" she asks, "Is there something going on?"

"It's not likely that the two things are connected," Ed assures her smoothly, "There's been a minor problem with the paperwork, that's all. It has to be filed by tomorrow morning, so someone has to go in a fix it." She seems slightly mollified by this answer. He leans over to give her a peck on the check.

After a final brief goodbye, Lee and Ed make their exit from the restaurant onto the cold Gotham streets. Lee moves quickly toward her car, already fishing her keys from her purse, her heart racing in her chest. Ed catches her arm.

"Why are you hurrying off so quickly? And are you sure you should be driving?"

"I've had one glass of wine, Ed, I'm fine! And there's actually an emergency at work. There might be another outbreak of the Tetch virus."

"Oh, no, there's not." She pauses and gives him a hard stare.

"And how would you know that?"

"Because, Oswald had me find something that _looked like_ the Tetch virus."

"So, the dead body in my morgue is one of yours?! And I suppose you're phone call wasn't really about some mistake with the paperwork. Wait. Did you set this up _just_ to give us a reason to leave dinner early?"

"Of course not. This has been planned for weeks. I simply manipulated the timings so everything would kick off at a convenient moment."

"Right, of course, why didn't I realise? Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"No, Lee. We might be friends but we're still on opposite sides of the law, so I'm afraid you'll have to figure it out for yourself."

"Wait, so you're telling me I have to go back to work? After the day I've had?"

"Erm. Yes?"

"Goddammit, Ed!"

"I could give you a hint if you'd like. I'm black-"

"Oh, shut up."


	8. Chapter 8

The man waiting for Lee in her morgue is a middle-aged businessman in an ill-fitting suit called Thomas Martin. He is, according to Harvey, known to the police for selling smuggled goods.

"What kind of goods?" Lee asks as she gets ready to work. Harvey shrugs.

"Nothing very exciting – antique furniture, mostly."

"We have antique furniture smugglers now?" Harvey shrugs again and Lee doesn't see the need to push the point. After all, the man's life is irrelevant to her, it's only his death she's interested in.

Despite Ed's reassurances that the man did not die from the Tetch virus, she can't help the dread that comes over her as she reviews what they know. Prior to his death Martin was seen wandering erratically through downtown Gotham, apparently talking to himself. Witnesses stated that his eyes appeared reddish and his veins became more pronounced as he 'shouted at things only he could see'. At a certain point he seemed to become oblivious to his surroundings because he walked straight into a busy street and was promptly run over by a bus. With the outbreak of the virus still quite recent in the public's mind, and the similar symptoms that Martin seems to have exhibited, it really isn't a surprise that people are worried.

She runs every test she can think of.

Lee is only able to breathe easy when his blood comes back clean. Well, clean of the Tetch virus at least. The man _had_ been drugged with a powerful hallucinogenic that Lee has never seen before. It reminds her a little of samples she's seen of the fear serum created by Gerard Crane, although this is obviously a more sophisticated strain. As far as she knows, Crane died before he could be taken into custody so she's not sure if this is a coincidence or if somebody is improving on his work. She reports her findings to Harvey and Jim to see what they make of it.

"Thank god," Jim says, breathing a sigh of relief, as Lee tells them that Martin had not been infected with the Tetch virus. Harvey just grumbles.

"Yeah, all we've got to worry about is an unknown, and possibly new, party using an unknown drug to kill people for unknown reasons!" he complains. Jim frowns at him.

"Exactly – it's just a murder. We deal with murders all the time."

"Not much to go on though. Who'd even want this guy dead?"

"It could be an experiment?" Lee muses, although that doesn't sound quite right to her, "Are you sure that Gerard Crane was working alone?" Jim and Harvey start nodding and then exchange significant looks.

"Well," Harvey begins, "There was the son. But last I heard, he was completely non-functional!"

"Where is he now?" Jim asks, "We ought to at least check it out." Harvey agrees and, after a brief silent argument with Jim, skulks off to find the necessary paperwork. As he goes, Lee can hear him muttering to himself about doing all the hard work while Jim sat around doing nothing and getting all the credit. She makes to head back to the morgue, see what else she can find, when Jim gently grabbed her wrist. She turns to meet his gaze, finding him studying her with worry clear in his eyes.

"Are you ok?" he asks softly. She nods. She feels embarrassed by his concern, not because it's unwelcome but because it's very welcome indeed and yet she can't show him that while she's still engaged to Mario. "It's just… this whole business, us thinking it might be the virus again… I can understand how that might be upsetting for you."

"I'm fine Jim, really. Are you?" He seems taken aback.

"Yes, of course. I mean, you're the one who's fiancé…" Jim trails off guiltily before he finishes his sentence.

"I know. But everybody was affected by the Tetch virus, even if not directly. It would would be understandable if you were a little shaken."

"Thank you for looking out for me, Lee, but I'm really fine. A little tired, maybe. In fact, if it's nothing to do with Tetch then it's probably not urgent – maybe we should all call it a night-" It's at that moment that the second body comes in, and with it the threat of more deaths throughout the night unless the detectives can figure out what's going on.

When Lee finally makes it home, at ten the next morning, she is exhausted to her bones. All in all, four people had died, all low-level crooks in obscure and seemingly unrelated jobs. They'd all died after being exposed to the same drug, two succumbing to massive heart failure as if their bodies couldn't take the strain. Jim and Harvey were no closer to figuring out why these people had been targeted, but they were pretty certain about the culprit at least. After a little bit of digging, they found out that Jonathan Crane was being kept on suicide watch at a local psych ward until a few days ago when he mysteriously disappeared. The timing, and the similarities between this new formula and the one used by Gerard Crane, were enough to put the young man at the top of the list of suspects. When she left them, the detectives were frantically trying to track him down and wondering what on earth had caused this sudden crime spree. Lee had her suspicions, of course, but nothing to back them up beyond an aborted double date. She was trying very hard not to think about the fact that her friend was probably involved in the deaths of those four people. Maybe that made her a bad person. Gotham made monsters of them all, it seemed.

On entering her apartment, she is greeted by the sight of Mario, calmly drinking coffee at the island in the kitchen with a newspaper in front of him. She sighs. It looks like it might be time to put the next part of the plan into action.

"You're back!" Mario greets as he notices her standing there. She offers him a weak smile.

"What are you doing here?" Mario frowns.

"I came to see if you were ok," he explains, "You seemed kind of… weird when you left last night."

"It was work stuff. Nothing to worry about."

"Right… and the completely standoffish vibe I'm getting from you now…?"

"Sorry, just tired. It's been a long night," she replies, not having to fake the tiredness seeping into her voice. Mario looks a little guilty.

"Of course. I should probably let you sleep…"

"No, wait!" she interrupts. She desperately wants to go and collapse into her sheets, but she made a deal with Ed and even though the nights events have reminded her of the sort of person her friend really is, she intends to follow through. "We barely got to see each other last night! Talk to me for a bit. How was the rest of the meal?" Mario looks a little unsure but does as she wants.

"Pretty good, actually. Would have been better if you'd been there, obviously." Perfect, an opening. Time to be unnecessarily mean to a person she cares about.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asks, icy. Mario looks taken-aback.

"Nothing. Just that… it would have been nice to spend some time with you."

"I had work, Mario."

"I know-"

"And you're the one that showed up late, so you're hardly one to talk about 'not being there'!"

"That's not what I said!" Mario exclaims. He stands up, clearly agitated. "I don't understand what this is about! Of course I understand that you had to work – I'm not _blaming_ you, I'm just saying that I missed you."

"Well, maybe I missed you at the start of the meal," Lee snaps. This started off as a mock fight, but the now she says it out loud she knows that it's true. She a terrible girlfriend, fiancé, whatever. She really is annoyed that her boyfriend was a little late to dinner because he was off saving lives, but expects him to be ok when she has to bail to do the same. Well. That's not completely true. Maybe it's less that, and more that she can feel her relationship imploding around her and this is just one of the things on the long list of why they don't work. They just don't have time for each other, and all the lunch dates in the world are not going to make up for it. "You were what, an hour late? And you didn't think to at least let me know?"

"That's not fair, Lee. I was in surgery!"

"It was embarrassing! I was sitting there, not sure if you were even going to show up, having to lie about it in front of our friends!" She's almost yelling at this point and Mario is getting redder in the face with every word. They glare at each other across the kitchen countertop.

"This is ridiculous," Mario spits out eventually, "I can't do this right now."

"What are you doing?" she growls as he collects his things and moves towards the door, "Are you really just walking away from this?"

"I don't know. What is this, Lee? Do you really want to fight about this? You're tired. We'll talk more when you're not dead on your feet."

"I think we should talk about it now," she says. Mario shakes his head and opens the front door decisively.

"You're clearly not in the right head space to talk right now, and maybe that's on me. You've had a long night and I'm sure you're stressed. Get some sleep and I'll see you later. I think we could both use a little space."

"Don't patronise me! I know exactly what I'm saying!" Mario shakes his head again, but before she can say anything else, he slides out of the door and closes it behind him, leaving her alone. As soon as he's gone, she collapses onto his vacated seat, feeling even more drained than before. She retrieves her phone from her bag and fires off a text.

 _Picked a fight with M. Stage 3 complete._


End file.
